How the Whale Became by Ted Hughes

Why the Owl Behaves as it does
    When Owl became an Owl, the first thing he discovered was that he could see by night. The next thing he discovered was that none of the other birds could.
    They could see only by day. They knew it was no use trying to see by dark night, so at every grey dusk they closed their eyes and slept until the grey dawn. They had been doing this for so long, they had forgotten what the dark was.
    Owl thought about this. Then he went to the other birds and said: ‘I know a country where there are farms, but no farmers. You may eat when and where you please. There are no guns, no bird-scarers, no men. I will take you there if you like.’
    Every day, Man killed large numbers of the birds as they were feeding in the fields. They said:
    ‘This sounds like a safe, peaceful country, made for birds. Let us go with Owl.’
    Owl smiled to himself.
    ‘Good.’ he said. ‘Now, as we have no passports, we shall have to cross the frontier by night, when no one can see us. We shall leave at dusk and should be there by dawn.’
    When dusk came, Owl led all the birds to a rabbit hole on the hill.
    ‘Hold each other’s hands,’ he cried. ‘I will lead you.’
    All the rabbits that lived on the hill ran up to see what new game the birds were playing. Owl led the way down into the dark hole.
    ‘Is this night, then?’ whispered the linnets in the pitchy darkness of the hole.
    ‘Hmm,’ said the crows. ‘So this is night.’
    It was so dark down the hole that the birds couldn’t even see their own beaks. Each one clung to the wing of the bird in front and followed blindly. Owl led them to and fro in the loops and twists of the hole for about five minutes. By that time, the birds, who were not at all used to walking, felt as if they had been travelling for hours.
    ‘Is it much further?’ cried the swallows. ‘Oh, our poor little feet!’
    At last Owl shouted:
    ‘Halt, while I see if it’s all clear up ahead.’
    He popped his head out of the rabbit hole and looked around. It was darker than when they had entered the hole a few minutes before, but it was not yet quite night. There was still a pale light in the west.
    ‘Here we are!’ he cried then. ‘Over the border, just as dawn is breaking.’
    And he led the birds out into the open. All the rabbits ran up again and sat, one ear up and one ear down, watching the birds with very puzzled expressions.
    ‘Is this the new country?’ asked the birds, and they crept close together, looking round at the almost dark landscape.
    ‘This is it,’ said Owl. ‘And that is dawn you can see breaking in the east.’
    The birds had quite lost their bearings in the dark underground, and the landscape was now too dark to recognize as the one they knew so well by day. They believed everything that Owl said.
    Owl led them off the hill and down towards a farm.
    ‘But it seems to be getting darker,’ said the doves suddenly.
    ‘Ah, I am glad you noticed that,’ said Owl. ‘That is something I forgot to tell you. In this country, day is darker than dawn.’
    He smiled to himself, but the birds looked at each other in dismay.
    ‘But what about the nights?’ they cried. ‘If day is darker than dawn, how dark are the nights?’
    Owl stopped and looked at them. They couldn’t see his face, but they could tell that he was very serious.
    ‘Night here,’ he said, ‘is so dark, so terribly dark, that it is impossible for a mere bird to survive one glimpse of it. There is only one thing to do if you want to keep alive. You must close your eyes as tight as you can as soon as the dark of the day begins to turn grey. You must keep them closed until I awake you at grey dawn. One peep at the dark, and you are dead birds.’
    Then, without another word, he led them into the stackyard of the farm.
    The farm lights were out. The farmer was sleeping. The farm was silent.
    ‘Here you are,’ said Owl. ‘Just as I promised. Now feed.’
    The birds scratched and pecked, but by now